Folks are surprised when I say relatively modern toys from their youth may not be safe for kids. This 1992 toy is painted with Leaded paint.

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For those new to this website:

Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).

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90 PPM Lead (or higher) is unsafe for kids. This Super Block Head! game from 1992 tested positive for Lead at levels higher than 1,000 ppm!

The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe for items intended for use by children and made today is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze, or coating, and anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate. I would not consider this toy safe for use by children today. Most important to know for context: this toy would be illegal if manufactured today. Please scroll down in the article to see the exact XRF test results for each color of block in this toy. The presence of Lead and the level of Lead in the paint (for those that did have Lead) varied by color.

“But I had a toy like this when I was a kid and I am ok!”

The sentiment expressed in the above quote (or some version of it) is a common refrain, and in response, I wrote an entire article for you to share with parents or grandparents (or spouses or friends) whose lack of concern is based on that notion. Here’s a link to that article, here. The fundamental guiding principle that we can all use in a situation like this is “Know Better, Do Better” – why would you knowingly give your child a toxic toy to play with? [Especially a younger child who might put that toy in their mouth!]

“Will my child get poisoned by using this particular toy?”

Strangely, this is a complete unknown — there is no manufacturer that has a financial interest in underwriting research to quantify the potential risk of their historic/vintage/legacy products (even though many vintage toys are products that were often “made to last a lifetime,” and are being handed down through the generations).

There have been several independent studies that demonstrate a basis for real potential concern for toxicants found in vintage toys in general (without identifying specific toys and specific manufacturers of concern). Here’s a link with more information. In my opinion — it is simply not worth the possible risk to allow any kid to play with vintage toys (specifically Lead-painted wooden toys in this case!) incorporating such potentially high levels of multiple neurotoxic metals. There are plenty of modern safer choices available for kids today — and they are normally quite inexpensive. The image below is an affiliate link* to a similar modern version of this exact game that is likely negative for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic.

The specific toxicant profile for the vintage game pictured in this article:

Below are the exact XRF test results for the Super Block Head! game pictured. Please read this article for more information about the testing methodologies used on this website. Note: you cannot do this testing yourself at home (the appropriate XRF instruments are both incredibly expensive and require training and experience to use correctly), which is why I do the testing and report it (free of charge) here on my website so parents have access to this information. If you are interested in having me test an item and report the results on the site, please read this article (link). If you have some of the Lead-contaminated items shown on this website, please read this article discussing what you can do with them.

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Continue reading below each of the images to see exact test results for each color of blocks (and the box) from this 1992 Pressman Toy Corporation “Super Block Head!” game.

#1.) Test on Purple Blocks

• Palladium (Pd): 18 +/- 3 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 106 +/- 27 ppm
• Indium (In): 59 +/- 8 ppm

Continue reading below the image.

#2.) Test on Red Blocks

• Palladium (Pd): 19 +/- 3 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 146 +/- 31 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 83 +/- 16 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 61 +/- 24 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 419 +/- 146 ppm
• Indium (In): 60 +/- 8 ppm
• Vanadium (V): 467 +/- 164 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 11,000 +/- 600 ppm

Continue reading below the image.

#3.) Test on Yellow Blocks

• Lead (Pb): 1,015 +/- 30 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 39 +/- 5 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 752 +/- 154 ppm
• Antimony (Sb): 37 +/- 12 ppm
• Silver (Ag): 26 +/- 4 ppm
• Palladium (Pd): 17 +/- 3 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 107 +/- 30 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 27 +/- 11 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 80 +/- 23 ppm
• Indium (In): 54 +/- 8 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 2,256 +/- 232 ppm

Continue reading below the image.

#4.) Test on Orange Blocks

• Lead (Pb): 328 +/- 22 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 45 +/- 7 ppm
• Palladium (Pd): 23 +/- 4 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 87 +/- 36 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 33 +/- 15 ppm
• Indium (In): 80 +/- 11 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 22,000 +/- 1,800 ppm

#5.) Test on Box Lid (Even the box has toxicants!)

• Lead (Pb): 37 +/- 11 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 51 +/- 7 ppm
• Antimony (Sb): 51 +/- 15 ppm
• Silver (Ag): 36 +/- 5 ppm
• NbL 1,990 +/- 46 ppm
• Palladium (Pd): 20 +/- 4 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 323 +/- 53 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 509 +/- 40 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 313 +/- 44 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 5,565 +/- 281 ppm
• Indium (In): 68 +/- 10 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 21,000 +/- 1,100 ppm

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If you are new to this website, below are LINKS with more important background information:

1. This link discusses the testing I report on here on the site.
2. This link has a short video that shows you how to efficiently search the more than 3,000 articles and pages here on the Lead Safe Mama website.
3. This is the link to the documentary feature film that I directed and produced on childhood Lead poisoning. I encourage you to watch it if you have not yet seen it. It is 92 minutes so… grab some popcorn… it is up on YouTube free of charge
4. This is the link to our new “Shop Lead Safe Mama” website – which lists only products (in various categories) that we have found to be consistently Lead-free (when tested with an XRF instrument.)
5. This is the link that explains how to have something of yours tested with the test results reported here on LeadSafeMama.com.

I think that’s it! Let me know if you have any questions about this particular item by commenting here on this piece. Thanks again for being here!

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of these links Lead Safe Mama, LLC may receive a percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.